2006 Honda Ridgeline

For its next swipe at market share, Honda reinvents the pickup truck.

In the past four years, Honda has become well equipped on the SUV front, redesigning the small CR-V and introducing the full-size Pilot, boxy Element, and upscale Acura MDX. But strangely enough, until now the company has never tried its hand at a pickup truck. For 2006, Honda is introducing the first H-badged alternative, the Ridgeline, which represents a new generation of truck with a unibody chassis, a four-wheel independent suspension, and even a trunk.

Honda's truck is targeted at a narrow portion of the small-pickup market. There is no two-wheel drive, two-door model; and neither a manual transmission nor a low-range transfer case is available. This makes Ridgeline options typical Honda-simple. All trucks have the same spacious four-full-doors cabin, 3.5-liter V-6, five-speed automatic, four-wheel drive (Honda's on-demand VTM-4 system), and five-foot-long bed.

Driving dynamics are a high priority to Honda, so a stiff unibody chassis and a four-wheel independent suspension were necessary to give the Ridgeline a best-in-class ride. But a typical shortcoming of this setup is towing capacity, and Honda didn't want to settle for a wimpy truck. So, although the Ridgeline's chassis stems from the Pilot's, the structure is significantly changed, with 93 percent being unique to the new truck. A respectable 5000-pound tow rating results from the fiddling. The front-strut, rear-multilink suspension design is carried over from the Pilot, but it, too, has been strengthened to handle additional loads.

The Ridgeline's bed is also different, with a sheet-molding-compound coating that is dent and corrosion resistant—no bed liner needed. But the best part is the hatch in the floor of the bed that opens to expose a nine-cubic-foot trunk—large enough for three sets of golf clubs, a keg, or the Ridgeline's chief engineer, Gary Flint. Think it would be difficult to load stuff into a trunk over a tailgate? So did Honda. That's why the tailgate swings open from right to left like a door, in addition to its traditional tailgate moves, making it easy to get at the trunk.

The Ridgeline elbows itself into the four-door, short-bed small-pickup market. It's smaller than the mid-size Dodge Dakota, closer to the compact Toyota Tacoma or GM's Colorado/ Canyon, but wider than all the above. Well, wider is better when it comes to interior volume, and the Ridgeline's Pilot-size interior trumps all the compact and mid-size competition. The Pilot comparisons stop at the interior, though, as the Ridgeline's 122.0-inch wheelbase is almost 16 inches longer, and its 206.8-inch overall length makes it nearly 19 inches longer. Only the width and height measurements are close—the Pilot is an inch wider and a couple inches taller.

All Ridgelines get a high level of standard equipment, including 17-inch wheels, A/C, cruise control, power windows, anti-lock brakes, stability control, and a heated windshield area where the wiper blades rest. And with this new-for-Honda segment come new trim levels. Gone are DX, LX, and EX; a base Ridgeline is designated RT and costs roughly $27,000. The mid-level RTS should come in at about 30K and adds alloy wheels, a six-CD changer, and automatic climate control. The top-of-the-line RTL starts at about $32,000 and adds heated leather seats and XM satellite radio.

The 3.5-liter SOHC engine is familiar Honda goods and makes 255 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque in this truck. It doesn't get the cylinder deactivation from the Odyssey and Accord hybrid, Honda engineers say, because a pickup's aerodynamics wouldn't allow the engine to spend enough time in three-cylinder mode to make it worthwhile. Even so, emissions and fuel economy are kept in check—it's an Ultra Low-Emission Vehicle, and Honda estimates 16 mpg in city driving and 21 on the highway.

Added to the well-known five-speed automatic from the Pilot and MDX are higher-capacity clutches, a new torque converter, and a transmission-oil cooler. So what we have here is a small pickup truck that is competitive in people space, horsepower, towing, and hauling, and drives like a Honda. The Ridgeline probably won't galvanize hard-core F-150 buyers, but it looks appealing to those who care as much about carrying passengers as they do about hauling hay.

*AccuPayment estimates payments under various scenarios for budgeting and informational purposes only. AccuPayment does not state credit or lease terms that are available from a creditor or lessor, and AccuPayment is not an offer or promotion of a credit or lease transaction.

*AccuPayment estimates payments under various scenarios for budgeting and informational purposes only. AccuPayment does not state credit or lease terms that are available from a creditor or lessor, and AccuPayment is not an offer or promotion of a credit or lease transaction.